Viewers don't choose us by ratings, but by how we touch their hearts: Punit Goenka

Zee Entertainment Enterprises is keeping its focus on content quality and audience engagement amid the ongoing industry-wide wait for the resumption of television ratings, with the company maintaining that its programming strategy will be guided by viewers' emotional connect with content rather than numerical benchmarks.

Speaking during the company's Q2FY27 earnings call, Punit Goenka, CEO of Zee Entertainment, said the company's priority remained delivering quality entertainment to consumers, even as the industry awaits clarity on the resumption of television viewership ratings.

"While the industry waits for the resumption of the ratings, our focus remains on offering quality content to our consumers, since we know that they don't choose us as per ratings or numbers, but by the way we touch their hearts," Goenka said.

The remarks come at a time when the absence of regular television ratings has emerged as an important challenge for broadcasters, given the role viewership data plays in assessing programme performance, understanding audience preferences and informing advertising decisions.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding ratings, Zee Entertainment is continuing to invest in strengthening its content portfolio, with a particular emphasis on culturally rooted fiction and an expanded slate of non-fiction intellectual properties (IPs).

Goenka said the company's fiction programming continued to capture viewers' attention and imagination through storylines rooted in India's cultural and social fabric. At the same time, the company had invested considerable time and resources in strengthening its non-fiction offerings to ensure a more diversified content portfolio.

Highlighting Zee's longstanding focus on India's linguistic diversity, he said the company's programming strategy was built around understanding the traditions, rituals and belief systems of audiences across different regions.

This approach is also shaping its non-fiction strategy, with the company launching key IPs across multiple languages during the July-September quarter as it seeks to deepen regional audience engagement.

The emphasis on content development reflects the broadcaster's effort to sustain viewer loyalty through programming that resonates with audiences, rather than relying solely on conventional performance metrics.

On the business front, Goenka said the company had managed to stabilise the decline in advertising revenues during the quarter. Zee Entertainment is also exploring new monetisation opportunities through strategic partnerships to strengthen its position in a dynamic advertising environment.

Meanwhile, the company's digital business continued to register growth, with ZEE5's revenue doubling year-on-year in Q2FY27. Overall subscription revenues increased 30% year-on-year, supported by multilingual entertainment offerings and global sports content.

Goenka said technology-led innovation would remain central to the company's transformation strategy, with investments aimed at improving operational efficiencies and delivering more personalised and seamless consumer experiences.

Beyond its established television and digital businesses, Zee Entertainment is also building growth opportunities across kids' entertainment, live experiences, animated content, micro-dramas and sports.

The company's strategy, Goenka indicated, is to strike a balance between strengthening its existing businesses and developing new growth engines, while continuing to place content and consumer engagement at the centre of its operations.

For the broadcaster, the immediate priority remains clear: sustain audience interest and deliver compelling programming while the television industry awaits the return of ratings as a key measurement tool.